10 WWE Stars Whose Stock Has Fallen The Most Since SummerSlam 2016

7. Rusev

Rusev WWE
WWE.com

The curious case of Rusev continues to baffle on SmackDown. WWE's 'Bulgarian Brute' has so much to offer the promotion; only 32 years old, he also has a thick, muscled look, can wrestle against opponents of all sizes (check that SmackDown match against Chad Gable for proof) and isn't too shabby on the mic when handed decent material.

Somehow though, Rusev has fallen by the wayside. Who could have imagined this time last year that Jinder Mahal would be WWE Champion and Rusev would be struggling to even make the main card at SummerSlam? His match against Randy Orton is complete throwaway and harks back to a time when WWE were content to put on random pay-per-view battles.

This isn't the late-80s anymore. Fans demand some sort of issue to make a pay-per-view clash sing. Orton vs. Rusev doesn't have that, and it's hardly a surprise considering how badly the latter's aura has been bashed. By comparison to SummerSlam 2017, Rusev's angle with Roman Reigns last year seems huge.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.